1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a channel searching system, and more particularly, to a channel searching system providing a viewer with a channel searching view.
2. Description of the Related Art
Unlike analogue broadcasting, digital broadcasting uses digital data rather than analogue signals to carry broadcasts over television channels. Accordingly, the digital broadcasting may provide numerous benefits over the analogue broadcasting, e.g. improved operational flexibility, possibility for new services that go beyond the scope of the conventional television programs for the broadcaster, and improved video and audio quality, improved program and service choices and possibility for interactivity with the service provider for the user.
However, digital broadcasting provides a slow channel changing speed as compared to analogue broadcasting because a broadcasting signal can not be reproduced until a frame of broadcasting signal is received in receiver.
Moreover, so many numbers of channels for a viewer may operate as a factor of delaying the viewer from scanning a desired channel.
Recently, mosaic electronic program guides (“EPGs”), and other mini EPGs have been introduced to overcome such problems.
A mosaic EPG shows multiple channels arranged in a mosaic pattern on a TV screen to help a viewer select a desired one from the channels. A Mini EPG is a text-based EPG, which contains the information on a broadcasting video broadcast through a channel. Viewers may select a desired channel using various channel information contained in mosaic EPG or mini EPG.
However, a conventional mosaic EPG has problems that there occurs a considerable loss in bandwidth since it contains additional information regarding the configuration of a TV screen and each channel needs to be allotted to each EPG view, separate equipment is required to transmit each EPG view over each channel, and a time period for EPG view conversion is longer than that for channel conversion. In mini EPGs, it is difficult for a viewer to notice a broadcasting video broadcast through a certain channel because mini EPGs provide a text-based user interface.
And, mosaic EPGs and mini EPGs can not meet the needs of viewers who are accustomed to intuitively changing TV channels while watching a current broadcasting video.